Onkalo, Philip Gordon
Army Private 1st class

Philip Gordon Onkalo, age 19, from Baltic, Michigan.

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment

Date of death: August 5, 1967
Death details: Bronze Star citation: For heroism in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. On 5 August 1967 Private First Class Onkalo distinguished himself while serving as a Rifleman in Company A, First Battalion, 35th Infantry; on a search and destroy operation near Duc Pho. As he was about to follow the point man through an opening in a hedgerow, Private First Class Onkalo saw that the man had unknowingly stepped on a trip wire connected to an improvised enemy explosive. He recognized that the device was detonated by a time delay mechanism and that he therefore had an opportunity to take cover. Determining instead to keep his fellow soldiers from harm despite the grave danger, Private First Class Onkalo yelled a warning of the imminent explosion to those in the rear and then ran forward through the hedgerow and pushed the lead man to the ground; thrusting him out of the way just as the explosion occurred. He received severe wounds to which he later succumbed, but by his valiant and unselfish action he had saved at least one mans life and kept others from serious injury. Private First Class Onkalos heroism at the cost of his life is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit on himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Cemetery: Mount View Cemetery, South Range

Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association